Dodgers bid $26 million for S. Korean lefty

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have bid nearly $26 million for a chance to sign pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin.

The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization said Saturday they have accepted a posting fee of $25.7 million for the 25-year-old left-hander. Major League Baseball later announced that the team was the Dodgers. The big league team that submitted the winning bid was not revealed.

The Chicago Cub and Texas Rangers were also among the clubs thought to be interested in Ryu.

Los Angeles now has 30 days to negotiate a minor league or major league contract with Ryu, who was 98-52 with a 2.80 career ERA during seven seasons in South Korea. He pitched for his country on teams that won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and reached the championship game of the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

The $25.7 million fee will be paid to the Eagles only if Ryu signs with the major league team.

The posting system brought Japanese stars Yu Darvish, Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka to the majors. Last winter, the Rangers gave Darvish a six-year contract guaranteeing him $56 million after submitting a record $51,703,411 posting bid to his former team, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.